


The Rise of Skywalker - Alternate Ending (Reylo)

by lifeuhfindsaway93



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:13:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26996485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifeuhfindsaway93/pseuds/lifeuhfindsaway93
Summary: Hey guys, I’m not sure if this particular ending has been done yet. But I know that many of us are extremely upset after the Rise of Skywalker ending, with Ben Solo sacrificing himself to save Rey. Here’s my take on a preferred ending. I hope you enjoy. :)
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	The Rise of Skywalker - Alternate Ending (Reylo)

Rey could feel the cold, hard ground of Exegol beneath her cheek. She sensed Ben’s presence beside her, and could detect the slightest traces of life still dwindling within him. The light from Palpatine’s Force was blinding, and the distant sounds of the battle raging above them were overpowered by the roar of the Force that Palpatine had so viciously drained from Ben and Rey. She watched, horrified, as one by one, the ships that had responded to the call for help - the call for hope - were ravaged by the Emperor, as their fragments began to litter the night sky, scattering amongst the stars high above. 

Ben. Rey’s thoughts shifted away from the front and with difficulty she turned, ever so slightly, to see Ben. He lay motionless, but the life Force, the bond, the soul that they both shared was beginning to stir. She felt it deep inside herself as well. She glanced up once more at the fighters - each one of them resilient, strong, true to the end. Rey felt flames encircle her heart, providing a restlessness, a strength to push one last time. 

It was not anger that stirred within, as Palpatine had said. It was love. She felt compassion penetrate her soul as she lay gazing up at those who risked themselves to fight for all that was good and true in the galaxy. Rey turned back to Ben, and at the sight of him felt her heart swell with emotion - with a beautiful, selfless, unconditional love she had never experienced before. She thought of Leia, Luke, Han, and all who came before her - that sacrificed themselves for this beautiful life, for Ben, for her. Rey felt this love for them, and for the man laying beside her surge within her veins, strengthening her resolve to finally put an end to the Sith. 

The same phenomenon was occurring within Ben as well. As if on cue, they slowly began to rise together as one - unified to one another, and strengthened by each others’ presence. At this act of defiance, Palpatine halted his attack on the Resistance forces, and turned towards the two Jedi standing before him. He moved his hand to direct an attack at Rey and Ben, but both shot their hands out to their sides, summoning their respective lightsabers and igniting them just as Palpatine’s lightning shot straight towards them. 

Holding their ground, Ben and Rey mustered all the strength they could to fight off the Emperor’s power. Laughing cruelly at their effort, the Emperor seethed, “I am all the Sith.” 

Ben and Rey turned to look at one another, and could see the fire within themselves reflected in each others’ eyes. Their minds worked as one, and, nodding in unison, they focused in on Palpatine, moving towards him one step at a time. As they neared the Emperor, lines of fear began to show within his face, urging them on further towards sealing their destiny. 

Mere feet away from Palpatine, Ben spoke up for the first time. “And we,” he stated, with a power unheard of before lacing his voice...

“We’re all the Jedi,” Rey finished, as she and Ben made one final push towards the Emperor, their lightsabers deflecting Palpatine’s power and illuminating his sickening face. He began to cry out, and slowly, the Force emanating from him began to overpower him, eating away at his face, skin, skull, until a great shock ran throughout the hall, destroying all that was left of Palpatine and the throne room. His followers were washed away by this wave, leaving nothing but Ben, Rey, and the charred spot on the stone floor where Palpatine had once stood. 

The force of it all sent Ben and Rey flying, knocking them back several feet and causing them to land roughly on the cold ground. Rey sat there for a moment, stunned. Her body ached from the impact but her mind felt clear. The disturbance she had felt for so long was gone, and there was a peace that she felt sweeping out from the hall and reaching all corners of the galaxy. 

After recovering from the shock of the sudden landing, Ben sat up, and was overwhelmed by...silence. For as long as he could remember, there was always someone, something, a voice in his head - Palpatine’s voice, confusing him, manipulating him. Now there was a beautiful quiet, and Ben felt finally free.  
Worried by Rey’s stillness, Ben moved quickly over to her, and gazed down on her face. She looked up at him, the light from the stars and the aftermath of the battle above reflecting in her eyes. Rey attempted to sit up, but Ben pulled her up nearer to himself so that they were both sitting and facing one another, with little distance between them. 

They both sat still for a moment, each staring, awestruck, and feeling a deep and beautiful connection in the other. Rey could see a shimmer in Ben’s eyes as she felt tears forming in her own. There was joy in his face she had not seen before, as he finally knew he was loved, as she did. 

Rey moved to touch the side of Ben’s face with her hand. She felt the smoothness of his skin as she looked, in wonder, at the place where his scar once was, and where he was now fully healed. 

She looked back into his eyes, and with a hopeful smile tugging at her cheeks, whispered, “Ben?” His face relaxed, and his hand went to meet the side of her face, stroking it gently. With one movement they closed the gap between themselves as they kissed, overcome with love for one another. Rey felt Ben’s lips press against hers, full of a joy that had been absent for far too long. Ben sensed the tears on her face mingling with his own, as he pulled her closer, relishing in the happiness, acceptance, and love that he had been yearning for for so long. 

They pulled apart, Rey gazing into Ben’s eyes. Their faces both glowed with joy, and Rey beamed at the beautiful man sitting before her. He was stunned by her radiance, and it moved him so much that he grinned from ear to ear. She had never seen him smile before, and it was the most incredible sight she had ever beheld. 

\------------ 

Trudging across the sand, Ben and Rey made their way to the modest hut. In the distance, moisture vaporators dotted the horizon, stretching out as far as the eye could see. They slid down the sand hill formed from years’ worth of sandstorms and into the hut’s courtyard, stepping backwards into the past of Luke Skywalker’s childhood home. Wandering through the rooms, they both felt their Master’s lingering presence as they saw the quarters where he lived and worked. BB-8 rolled along beside them as they walked, and each knew that the lightsabers needed to be laid to rest where his story - their story - had begun. 

Emerging from the hut, Ben laid down a woven linen cloth in the sand a stone’s throw away from the entrance. He set Luke’s lightsaber down gently, and Rey followed suit with Leia’s. Wrapping them tightly and securing them with a thin, leather strap, Rey stood up to join Ben, and glanced down at the two instruments, gleaming in the light of the fading suns. Taking each others’ hand, the two guided the lightsabers down into the earth with the Force, honoring the legacies their Masters left behind. 

They heard a shuffle behind them, and they turned to look back at a villager standing nearby, gazing at them inquisitively. A tall, camel-like creature stood beside her, and she held it close with a reign connected to its front. “There haven’t been people here for many years,” she remarked, as she looked at the two standing together before her. “Who are you?”

Facing the villager, each responded simply. 

“I’m Ben.”

“And I’m Rey.”

The villager continued to stare, and tilted her head, seemingly dissatisfied with the vague answers. “Ben and Rey who?”

Off in the distance, They saw the shimmering forms of their Masters, both gazing upon them proudly. Ben and Rey looked at one another, their faces smiling and full of love. Turning to face the villager once more, they responded in unison,

“Skywalker.”

Seemingly pleased with the answer, the villager nodded and tugged at her steed, returning to Mos Eisley off in the distance. Ben and Rey turned the other way, embracing as they looked at the beautiful twin suns setting out on the horizon. 

They finally belonged - they found home in one another. They were not two souls, but one - a dyad of light in the Force. They were completely and wholly unified to form something beautiful, sacred, and pure. Kylo Ren was gone. In his stead, Ben Solo rose, taking his place beside Rey. Both of them loved. Both of them at peace. 

Both of them - Skywalkers.


End file.
